Method of knitting



March 30, 1943. E 5T, PIERRE ETAL 2,315,165

METHOD oF KNITTING Filed Feb. 9, 1942 2 sheets-Sheet 1 Ff a". i.

I Il?, l g! rnv March 30, 1943. E sT, PIERRE ET A;

METHOD OF KNITTING Filed Feb. 9, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JAWS/Www' @y @MM ryy . Patented Mar. 30, 1943 UNITI-:o STATES f PATENT orrlca METHOD 0F m'rrmc Eugene St. Pierre' and Donat H. Fregeolle,` Pawtucket, R. I., assignors to Hemphill Company, Central Massachusetts .v

Fails, R. I., a.l corporation of Application February 9, 1942, serial No. 430,042

(Cl. (i6- 41) v 11 Claims.

The invention disclosed herein relates to a knitted fabric and method of knitting and more particularly to the knitting of hosiery tops with -one set of needles, such as cylinder needles, and

in such a manner as to provide a rib appearance.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a View of a few wales and courses;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view illustratingthe apearance of the stocking top, the upper portion of which is knitted in the manner shown in ing in the direction of the arrow.

Referring to Figs. 1, 5 and 6, a cotton or other yarn I is knitted at the main feeding station M on all of the needles 2v resulting' in wales 3, 4, 5, 6,1, 8, 9, etc. vWhereas the alternate wales- 3, 5,

p I1, 9, etc., are solely knitted at the main feeding station M, the intermediate wales l, 6, 8, etc., are alternately knitted at theV main feeding station M and the auxiliary feeding station A. The knitting of the intermediate wales at the auxiliary feeding station A as effected by th'e needles drawing the auxiliary yarn Ill, such as rayon, over slnkers as illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawings. Thus at the intermediate wales 4, 6, 8, etc., there are alternating loops of the main yarn I and the auxiliary or accordion yarn I0, the latter being fine or smaller as compared with the former.. In other words, at the said intermediate wales l, 6, 8, etc., loops of the main yarn I, which Y may be of cotton, are drawn through accordion loops of the yarn- Ill, which may be of rayon, and likewise theaccordion loops are drawn through the main or cotton loops or stitches.

The accordion loops II are shorter or smaller than the main yarn loops I2 knitted in the alternate wales 3, 5, l, 9, etc; The relatively shorter accordion loops are important in that they accentuate the rib appearance of the fabric. The alternate walesv 3, 5, "I, 9, etc., stand out prominently on the face of the fabric as dial, 6, etc., as'illustrated in Fig. 4. The rib appearance is. further accentuated by imposing I from the throat of the needle hook in the bight f grammatically illustrated at 3,- 5, 1, etc., Fig. 4, Y

whereas the accordion or intermediate wales I, 6, 8, etc., are more or less buried or hidden at greater tension upon the .accordion yarn I0 at the auxiliary feeding station A than upon.the

-main yarn I at the main feeding station M.

The rib appearance, of the-tops T and T' is further illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. In the latter figure, selvage tuck courses, such as a four-course tuck; are illustrated at I3-anda secondfourcourse tuck is illustrated atVIB'. The tuck courses I3 and I3' strengthenthe selvage without impairing its elasticity.' v Referring more particularly to Fig. 5, the accordion yarn Ill is shown passingy through an eyelet at the auxiliary feeding station A being drawn by alternate needles A to knit in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 5. The needles shown I are the conventional latch needles although other needles may be employed. The needles 2 act in conjunction with the alternating groups of. sinkers Il and I5. The sinkers I4 have iiat topped nibsA I6 over which the yarn is drawn by the alternate needles as illustrated by one of the said alternate needles 2 specially desig-` nated I1.

The needle Il is shown at approximately the lowest stitch drawing point and at that point of depression is positioned about 3*; of an inch below the normalvyarn drawing edge I8 of adjacent sinkers. 'Ihe nl; of an inch is measured thereof to the mentioned edge of the sinker.

As hereinbefore stated the main yarn I- is 'drawn at the main feeding station M, over the accordion yarn over the sinkers at the auxiliary feeding .station A. Partly as a consequence of the shox r stitch drawing. of the auxiliary or accordion yarn, the' loops I I areshorter thanthc loops I2. Anothercontributing factor to the relative shortness is the extra tension imposed upon the accordion yarn l0 as Well as the fine count oi the accordion yarn as compared with'the yarn I.

Noting particularlyl the needle Il, Fig. 5,l said needle is at or approximately at its extreme stitch drawing position and when in that position is drawing accordion yarn I0 over the normal yarn drawing edge I8 of the sinker immediately in ad Vance of the said needle and at the same time is drawing the said accordion yarn over the' flatI topped sinker nib IS-of the sinker next following l(in the cycle) the sinker first mentioned. Al-

though the accordion yarn is drawn over the elevated sinker nib ofthe said next following sinker. Fig.`.5, the accordion loop or stitch is relatively short or small. There are several reasons contl'ibutng to the short or tight accordionstitches II. First, the alternate needle I8, following the needle I1- is, as shown in Fig. 5, drawing the accordion yarn over the nib of the next following sinker 2l as a consequence of which there 4is -a pull or drag upon that portion of the accordion yarn Il leading from the needle Il to the needle Il as a consequence of which there is a pulling back or robbing by needle I 3 of the accordion yarn as it is being completely drawn vby the needle I1. Second, there is some robbing by the needle I1 of the stitch loop already rformled by the alternate needle 2I in advance of the needle I1 this further tending to shorten or`tighten the ultimate stitch formed.

The greater tension imposed upon the accordion yarn I I as compared to the tension imposed upon the main yarn assists in casting on' the stitch as a needle moves from the position ofthe needn lato the position or the need1e l1, Fig. 5.1 Furthermore the greater the tension upon the accordion yarn il,l and consequently the tighter the accordion stitch, the moreprominent is the rib appearance; in other words, the alternate wales 3, 5, 1, 9, etc.. appear more prominently on the outer face of the fabric.

The foregoing description is illustrative of the invention which is not limited to precise details voi' construction and methods illustrated and described, e. g., the sinkers I4 vand I5 may be transf posed so that the sinker I4 instead of the sinker l I5 would be in .advance of the needle II.

Whereas the'selvage or finished edge is not As shown in Fig. 6 the extreme stitch drawing l portion 23 of the knitting wave at the auxiliaryfeeding station A is positioned slightly above the corresponding portion 24 of the knitting wave at the main knitting station M. This contributes to the drawing of the tighter accordion stitch. the difference in height of the portions 23 and 24 being about i, of an inch as hereinbefore indicated. Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 6, the stitch drawing portions 23 and 24 do not come to a point but are somewhat fiat. This permits two or more needles. Il and 25 of Fig. 5, to beof `l If the stitch drawsubstantially the same level. ing portions such as 23 came to a point, the needie 25 would be above the point indicated in.

Fig. 5 as a nsequence 'of which theyarn il might be p above the nib ofthe following sinker 2l.

shown in Fig. 1, any accepted form of selvage may be employed, Fig. 3, for example, diagram-` matically illustrating a tuck selvage. The selvage for the stocking'top T of Fig. 2 may be effectedy inA any vwell-.known manner, e. g.. causing every other needle to engage the main yarn I during .I the `ilrst round of knitting and every needle to engage the main yarn I during a second round of knitting. In place 9i the selvage the edge may be turned over and sewed if desired.

Accordion fabric as previously known was un-` satisfactory by reason of the former tightness or tautnesscf the float portions 22 of the accordion yarn. In the fabric specincally illustrated in Fig.

1 and knitted as disclosed in Fig. 5, the accordion yarn lIl is knitted only at the accordion feed A and when all the -needles knit at the main feeding station M, the accordion yarn f ioats in back of the alternate wales 3, i, 1, U, etc. .Whereas the method of knitting accordion ya'rn is broadly old,

The needles and sinkers may be selectively controlled in any desired manner, the Jacks preferably being positioned under the alternate necdles which engage and knitl theaccordion yarn. The sinkers are provided with butts, the alternate sinkers I4 having short butts 2l and the intermediate sinkers I5 having long butts 2l. As shown in Fig. 5, the alternate sinkers' I4 having short buttsare positioned farther forward than are the intermediate sinkers Il, this being ac complished by causing all the slnkers to be advanced and then withdrawing the long butt intion, and causing alternate needles `to draw the Y second mentioned yarn over the nibs of sinkers.

the tightness or tautness of the floats suchasat 22 is avoided bythe method illustrated in Fig. 5, as hereinbefore described.' The robbing and consequent shortening of theaccordion loops at-the termediate sinkers. This selection control may be effected in any desired manner as for example in the patent to Ellis #$97,078. April. 8, 1902,` or in the application of Oscar Fregeolle, Serial #342,323, nled June 25, 1940.

Various modineations may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims.

l. A method of knitting including feeding a yarn to all of the needles at one feeding station and-feeding another and relativelyz'iine yarn to` alternate needles only at the other feeding sta- 2. A method of knitting including feeding a fyarn to all of the needles at one feeding station wales when they reach the position of the needleV 2 I Fig. 5, provides excess accordion yarn that has no other place rto go than in the float' portions 22 backof vthe intermediate wales 3, I, 1, l. etc.

Furthermore, the drawing of the accordion yarn' over the sinker nibs as illustrated by the sinker" 2l, Fig. 5, draws out .more of the accordion yarn than would otherwise be the case and this extra.

length of accordion yarn mustlalso place itself in the float portions 22. As a combined result of the mentioned robbing and action of the sinker nibs, the tautness of loops 22 heretofore present in accordion fabric is eliminated as a consequence and feeding another and relatively flue yarn to alternate needles only at the other feeding station, and causing alternate needles to draw the second mentioned yarn over the nibs of alternate'sinkersl and imposing a greater tension 'upon the relatively nne yarn than on the first mentioned yarn. 1 n

3.- A method of knitting including the feeding `oi' one yarn to all the needles atone feeding station and a second yarn to alternate needles only at a second feeding station and causing each said alternate needle to draw stitches over the nib of Vone adjacentsinker and over the normal yarn drawing edge 'of the other adjacent sinker.

4. A method of knitting 'including' the feeding of whichfthe fabric.` such as the stocking top '1' 75 of one` yarn to all' the needles at one feeding 'sta- Furthermore, the relatively tight ac' tion and asecond yarn to alternate needles only at a second feeding station andcausing each said alternate needle to draw stitches over the nib of the adjacent sinker following the needle and over the normal yarn drawing edge of the sinker ahead of said needle. y

5. A method of knitting including the feeding of one yarn to all thekneedles at one feeding station and. a second yarn to alternate needles only at a second Ifeeding station and causing each said alternate needle to draw stitches over the nib of one adjacent sinker and over the normal yarn drawing edge of the other adjacent sinker and imposing a greater tension on that yarn drawn over sinker nibs.

6. A method of knitting including feeding one yarn to all the needles at one feeding station and A feeding a second and relatively fine yarn to al-I ternate needles only at another feeding station and causing every other sinker only to be so positioned that the yarn second mentioned shall be drawn over the nibs of said sinkers.

7. A method of knitting including feeding one l yarn to all the needles at one feeding station and feeding a second and relatively ne yarn to alternate needles only at another feeding station and causing every other sinker only to be so positioned that the yarn second mentioned shall be drawn over the nibs of said sinkers and causing intermediate sinkers to be so positioned that the second mentioned yarn shall be drawn over the normal yarn drawing edges thereof.

8. A method of knitting a rib-like fabricfby feeding a yarn to all the needles at one feeding station and feeding a second 'and relatively fine yarn to alternate needles at a second Afeeding station, and adjacent to said second mentioned feeding station causing alternate needles to draw the yarn second mentioned over the nibs of alternate sinkers only and knitting relatively tight stitches with the said alternate needles by causing each intermediate needle in the knitately in advance thereof. Y

9. Amethod of knitting a rib-like fabric by feeding a yarn to all the needles at one feeding station and feeding a second and relatively fine yarn to alternate needles at a second feeding station, and adjacent to said second mentioned feeding station causing alternate needles to draw the yarn second mentioned over the nibs of alternate sinkers only and knitting relatively tight stitches with the said alternate needles and causing each said last mentioned needle in the knitting cycle to rob from the stitch drawn by thel needle in advance thereof.

10. A method of knitting including the knitting of yarn by all the needles at one feeding station and knitting a second and relatively ne yarn with alternate needles only at a second feeding station and causing the said alternate needles at the second feeding station to draw their stitches approximately .32 of an inch below the normal yarn drawing edge of adjacent sinkers and causing all the needles at the first mentioned feeding station to draw their stitches approximately x16 of an inch below the normal yarn drawing edge of adjacent sinkers.

11. A method of knitting'including the knitting of yarn by all the needles at one feeding station and knitting a second and relatively fine yarn with alternate needles only at a second feeding station and causing al1 needles as they pass the first mentioned feeding station to draw stitches by measuring yarn approximately f3 of an inch below the normal yarn. drawing edge of adjacent sinkers, and causingalternate needles at the second mentioned feeding station to draw stitches by measuring yarn to a depth of aboutvone-half the distance the said needles measure yarn at the first mentioned feeding station.

'EUGENE sT. PIERRE. DoNAT H. FREGEOLLE. 

